At what point did you go to an RE?

Kasi80

Hi.  I may be experiencing secondary IF...not sure if I am ready to admit it, but here I am.  I have a 10 year old from my first marriage and had no problems becoming pregnant with her.  I posted here once or twice a year ago seeking advice and I took it.  I went in for an SIS last summer, after a year of being off BC and no baby.  What drove me to go was not so much the fact that I wasn't getting pregnant but the fact that I was having 2 to 3 full blown periods a month for 6 months and it worried me.  They found nothing and had no explanation as to why I would bleed so much.  I decided to wait another year before I made another move.

Well, a year is approaching, currently at 22 months off BC, and still no significant changes although it seems my multiple periods have a schedule of sorts.  They start about the same time each month, give or take a day, twice a month each month with the exception of a month here and there where there's just one.  My cycles (or what's calculated to be my cycles) last only about 13-15 days. It's frustrating.

I think it's time to seek help but I am hesitant.  I am holding on to the hope that we can do it on our own and it's just the BC messing up my hormones....22 months later!  DH is completely open to getting tested but I just need to make the move and quickly.  I know I am not old but am in my early 30s and feel like if it doesn't happen soon it just never will.  I am torn by that.  On one hand I have a child already and sometimes I feel like that is enough and it would be great to have a child out of school while I'm still in my 30s and have no other child to take care.  But then I think of DH who is amazing with kids and *our* daughter and he has voiced his yearning to have another.  He came into our lives when my daughter was close to turning 6 so he never experienced the baby years and he wants that. 

So, that's my story thus far.  Has anyone else experienced multiple monthly periods for an extended amount of time?  I've been dealing with it for over a year now.  I think I am scared to actually start the IF/RE process.  The SIS was the first step but I just don't know how to get to the next step...I feel like if it's not confirmed then it's not happening.            

 

 

jennykg1477

Welcome back to the board!  I don't have multiple periods in one month, but if you are trying to get pregnant then that is something to definitely look into more.  Have you talked to your ob anymore about this?  I think that if you really want to get to the bottom of things and get pregnant, the RE is the way to go.  I have found that they are much more aggressive with their treatment plans and know a lot more about the subject than obs.  Good luck to you!   

Kasi80

I didn't speak to my OB after that.  I dropped it hoping that it would fix itself.  I told myself that if, in a year, there was no change I'd go back.  I'm working on talking myself into making an appointment but the hope is still winning out.  Coming here and talking about it is my first step I guess. 

smacb

For women under 35  infertility is defined as 12 months of unprotected intercourse without conception. For women over 35 it is defined as 6 months of unprotected intercourse without conception.

We had multiple losses and a year of ttc before we were referred to an RE.  

I'm not a doctor, but two periods in a month isn't normal and with cycles that short, you can't get pregnant. I've been on and off bcp a few times and never had anything like that or anything that didn't correct ina month or two.  I had a friend who had a menstural cycle like yours.  It turned out she wasn't ovulating.  She recently had a beautiful baby girl with ivf.  Hopefully it's a relatively easy fix for you.  It can't hurt to see a doctor and get some testing done.

Kasi80

Thank you.  So 31 and 22 months = infertility for me   I've been concerned for quite awhile that there was just no way I could be ovulating.  There would be symptoms but it just turned out to be the onset of AF instead.  I tried temping last year but the month I started was the month AF started showing up multiple times.  I attributed it to getting off BC and my hormones trying to balance then when there were no answers from the OB I kind of felt defeated and thought maybe my body would regulate.  Not so.  I hope I don't have to go through IVF.  I think all that is the scary part for me and the reason I don't want to know what's wrong, although at the same time I do want to know.

Kasi80

Oh and also, I have been off BC a few times in the past and I had always regulated rather quickly.  I never expected this to happen when I got off in 2009.

pharmacygirl

Definitely se a RE. I know how you feel. In Oct 2010 we had been ttc for 12 months. My OB told me my options but I never mentioned to her that my period was 12-14 days. It was kinda like my new normal. I had always had a regular cycle before baby #2. But after DS I had this crazy long cycle. I think when something becomes normal to us we fail to realize it's not really normal. I like you kept holding out hope for "next" month. But month after month passes and still nothing. So finally I called my OB back for a follow up appointment and told her about my really long cycle. She immediately scheduled my for an ultrasound and hsg. She told me that a good number of women get pg within a few months of the hsg. And sure enough 2 months after I got a bfp. It was hard to get the ball rolling because I knew it was admitting that my body had a problem. It's hard to face that and realize. "I am infertile". But the sooner we accept that it's ok to get help the closer we get to our goal of having another little baby. Hth. Get an appointment asap and your a lucky girl that your DH is already on board.

Kasi80

Thank you.  That really helps.  Is the HSG painful?  I know the saline u/s was pretty bad for me so I expect it's about the same. 

It really is hard to face it.  I had a feeling something was wrong before this all started (I have reason to believe so but would rather not mention exactly why).  I had that gut instinct and mentioned it but people pretty much called me insensitive for even thinking that when others were really going through IF.  It was hurtful so I clammed up and kept it to myself and going on thinking that maybe after a year my feelings on it would be justified and people wouldn't bash me if I mentioned it.  Turns out even 12 months is not long enough for some to *justify* it.  Well, I kept shut until now hoping that my instinct was wrong.  In fact I was hesitant to mention it here.  It's kind of scary mentioning something like this and feeling like it's a real concern when there's a chance someone will shoot shoot you down thinking it's trivial. 

Sorry, kind of went off on a tangent.   Thank you for the suggestions and making me feel comfortable about talking about this here.  It is helping a lot.

JMay

Throwing in my 2 cents here - RUN, don't walk, to the RE.  My biggest mistake was denying I really had an issue and needed a specialist.  I wasted so much time and money because I was afraid to admit to myself that I needed help.  I'm sorry you've been blown off and not had your concerns taken seriously - I had that happen too.  (I knew at a young age that I would have issues, but trying to address those issues when I was young was next to impossible.  No one took me seriously.)  Please feel free to come here often on your journey - we're a great bunch here on 2IF!

Kasi80

Thank you all so much.  I am getting off here to make the call.  That's step one. 

electricdoctor83

I will see a RE in August which is my 1 year mark...I'm 25 and have had 2 losses in the last 6 months.  I am trying to hold out hope too so I don't have to actually go to that appointment but we'll see.

Good luck with the RE!  Baby steps